Women in religious orders founded many of the hospitals in the Diocese of Youngstown and staffed them for many years. The two remaining Catholic hospital groups—Mercy Health and Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital in Canton—now have new ownership but remain non-profit and are committed to retaining their Catholic identity.
“We have a large debt of gratitude to the sisters,” said James Armour, vice president of mission for Bon Secours Mercy Health, which now runs Mercy Health St. Elizabeth Youngstown, St. Elizabeth Boardman and St. Joseph Warren. “Now we are stewards of that legacy.”
Armour said the purpose of Mercy Health hospitals is to “extend the mission of Jesus,” and they accomplish this through four “pillars.” The first pillar is Mission Integration, which includes following the heritage of the founding Humility of Mary sisters. For example, they are committed to starting their meetings with prayer and maintaining a chapel. Armour said sisters still serve on the board and have a presence in the operation of the hospitals.
The second pillar is Spiritual Care. This includes staffing traditional chaplains who serve the spiritual needs of patients, staff and families, and offering Mass and other Catholic programs. “We want to treat each person in a holistic way, body, mind and soul,” Armour said. “We care for all parts of the person.”
The third pillar is Ethics in Health Care. “We help facilitate good solutions that are in alignment with ethics in general and our ethical and religious objectives,” said Deanna Ford, director of mission at St. Elizabeth Boardman and St. Joseph. They turn to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for guidance, which helps hospital leaders to make sound judgments, including for beginning-of-life and end-of-life decisions, she added.
The final pillar is Catholic Social Teaching. “We have special affinity for the poor, dying or underserved,” Armour said. “We serve all people. Although the financial is a reality, we are not profit-driven, we are mission-driven.”
Mercy Health hospitals offer vibrant community benefits, according to Ford, including health fairs in collaboration with other community organizations. “We perform blood sugar screening, blood-pressure screenings, education, nutrition counseling and provide resource programs for pregnant mothers and fathers,” she said.
A new medical building on Belmont Avenue in Youngstown is at a convenient location for bus service, according to Natalie Terry, director of mission at St. Elizabeth Youngstown. Among the offerings at the facility are Hispanic services and addiction services. “Addressing the needs of the community is a big responsibility,” she said.
Mercy Health’s primary care clinic in East Palestine was overwhelmed after the February 3 derailment. The building, less than a mile from the site, had to be closed for about a week during the evacuation. After reopening, mental health counselors were sent there to support associates, and chaplains were made available for the staff and patients, according to Terry.
Armour said patients find their holistic approach—care of mind, body and spirit—to be very different from the usual hospital experience today. Patients have access to trained chaplains and the sacraments, should they choose to take advantage of them. This includes a chaplain staff of more than 20 full- or part-time people, including Catholics and those from other faith backgrounds. “They are all aligned with our mission of extending the compassionate care of Jesus,” Armour said about the chaplain staff.
He added that part of their mission is to offer health care access to the underserved. “We accept all that walk through our door.”
The other Catholic hospital in the diocese, Mercy Hospital in Canton, became Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital about two years ago. “The Sisters of Charity and the Cleveland Clinic established a memorandum of understanding to maintain our Catholic identity,” said P.J. Chavez, director of mission and ministry. “We live by the ethical and religious directives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.”
Pastoral care, mission outreach and education are three of the areas under the direction of the mission and ministry team at Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital in Canton, according to Chavez.
“Pastoral care has four full-time chaplains, one Catholic priest, a Methodist minister and two other Christian ministers, all who have mutual respect for the Catholic faith,” Chavez said. “Chaplains visit and pray with the patients and minister to their mind, body and spirit and help guide them,” Chavez said. “People get state-of-the-art medical care and also experience the love and the mercy of Jesus Christ.”
He added that they strive to provide patients with items that help lift their spirits, such as Bibles or rosaries. He even once provided a Quran to a Muslim man who requested it.
Chavez remembers a musician who was recovering from surgery and feeling miserable. He said he just wanted to play his piano. So Chavez brought his own keyboard to the room, and the musician was thrilled. They ended up playing the “Beer Barrel Polka” in a duet.
The pastoral care team also serves the staff. For example, the Blessing of the Hands, which was passed down from the Sisters of Charity, is a ritual where the chaplains visit all floors and make the Sign of the Cross on the hands of participating employees.
Code Lavender is another service for the staff, where the mission department organizes the delivery of coffee and snacks for employees. “We just want to tell them ‘thank you for your ministry’,” Chavez said.
For outreach and education, Chavez said the hospital has a clinic in the rectory of the former St. Paul Parish in Canton. In addition to medical services, this clinic also provides Lunch and Learn events for the public. The sessions include prayer, free lunches and speakers on health topics. Recent topics include “Healthy Cooking on a Budget” and a presentation on disposing of unused drugs.
The hospital also partners with the Jackson-Sherrick apartment complex, Chavez said. During the summer, the hospital’s food service provides “heat and eat” meals for children in the complex on the weekends. Every Friday, each child gets four dinners to take home and heat up.
Pop-up grilling is another outreach. Employees pick sites throughout the city and grill hot dogs and hamburgers for passersby. They also set up tables with health information and perform blood-pressure screenings.
Cleveland Clinic Mercy also sponsored a four-week program for Canton City Schools, where children interested in healthcare careers can listen to speakers from various medical fields, according to Chavez. The 25 eight-graders enrolled in the most recent program also got an all-day hospital tour and each took home a lab coat.
“We are the hands and feet of Christ,” Chavez concluded. “We bring Christ’s healing mission to everyone we serve. It’s more than a job, it’s a ministry, and everyone belongs to that.”
